Do I Need To Be Diagnosed?

Decided, just for the hell of it, to add on the thyroid tests to my request. My symptoms all fall under Hashimoto symptoms as well, and thyroid issues run in my family. I just want to feel better! Being this tired and having all these issues can't be just...nothing. I mean, I keep telling myself that maybe if I just lose weight, everything will be good again...but how can I work out when I'm so freaking exhausted?

My doc will probably give me a lecture....ugh...stupid VA. If I didn't have to get my care there, things would be so much easier. My ability to advocate for myself is so limited.

Ummm.....the difficulty you are facing is well know by many of us...HMO, PPO, VA, NHS, hmmm can't remember if Canada has abbreviations....the key is to understand the issues you want tested -- which it sounds like you do.

Hang in there ...keep pushing ...you will find answers ...and I am sorry it is frustrating -- I completely understand the frustration

Speaking bags of gluten, the week before my dx I had scoured the store for one because I wanted to try making some vegan dishes with it. What a waste of my money!

Also, my personal experience is that I hardly felt better being gluten-free after 2 weeks. It's reaching a year now and I still suffer. If I did not get tested for celiac disease, and it didn't turn up positive, I would likely have ditched my diet ages ago. But I also wasn't as aware as you are of celiac disease, or of non-celiac gluten intolerance.

Instead of eating bread, I plan on buying a bag of gluten for baking and just mixing it will water and chugging it. I figure two or three tablespoons a day will do it, if I am celiac!

Hi Cargo,

Two weeks may be enough for 75 percent of celiacs, but if you aren't part of that 75 percent, not so helpful. Just remember if you get a negative result if t could just mean you are part of the other 25 percent who need longer gluten challenges. I agree it's pretty good chance of a positive, but not so reliable as a negative. Just something to be aware of.

I haven't gone gluten free at all yet, but I realized that I've only been eating a fairly small amount of bread recently and don't want to take any chances on a negative blood test. lol I'm sure there's gluten in other things I've been eating, but I'm paranoid that it's not enough for the tests. I know it's not logical. lol I just want to over do it so I can be sure.

My doctor, who is a specialist in Celiacs Disease, said to eat at least two peices of bread every day for six weeks before being tested. You might want to watch chugging a whole bunch of gluten- if you are gluten sensitive or have Celiacs it might make you feel really horrible. And I agree with everyone else who says a two week challenge is basically worthless- I was put on a very strict elimination diet and didn't get to add gluten in for at least three months to make sure it was completely out of my system. When i went off of gluten I had a massive headache for five days. Since I went on the elimination diet for digestive issues, it took me a while to realize that my headaches had stopped when I went off of gluten. On this particular diet, when you add in a new food you eat it for three days, then do something else the next three days- they call it a Rotation Diet. It took me a while to realize that during my three days on gluten, I would get really irritable, yell at the kids, fight with my husband, and then get a headache.

Sometimes the symptoms are kind of subtle and you have to pay attention to get the cause and effect.

No need to stuff yourself with gluten....glad you got them done. Most blood tests take less than 72 hours....yet results can take a week or so to hit your file. Make sure you request written or electronic copies from your primary.